News about GMP/cGMP

21.11.2017

European Medicines Agency EMA moves to Amsterdam

The city to host the new headquarter of the European Medicines Agency EMA is chosen. Amsterdam emerged as the winner ahead of Milan and Copenhagen, the two other cities that reached the second and final round.

27 EU Member States took the decision on where to move the EMA which employs over 900 people. The final winner Amsterdam was drawn by lot over Milan. 19 cities have offered to host the EMA.

“Amsterdam ticks many of our boxes” said EMA Executive Director Guido Rasi. He added that “Our internal surveys have shown that a large majority of EMA staff would be willing to move with the Agency to Amsterdam. However even in this case, our activities will be impacted and we need to plan for this now to avoid the creation of gaps in knowledge and expertise.”

The relocation is planned to be completed by 30 March 2019, which is a tight timeline. A joint governance structure between the EMA and the Netherlands will now be established. In early December, the Agency will make available a monitoring chart on its website that will allow to track the progress made.